MASTERTON LICENSES.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 404, 13 January 1909, Page 4

MASTERTON LICENSES.

.--,' .•^i-S-j^io^PUE■ SPECiAIi>BEPORTEE.) '"■'''■'■; 'I Vlyrdßearing of:the;pe'titioil^^set-^Be';^las r (•^■tliiirMast^j^iiOpiiithoMQ'^iD^iWas'.i^piTjirißy :,■ appeared oil-.behalf,ofy the•;petitioners, and iijtlje. other, party was represented by Messrs, . i;P.;Ii; Hollings ': : ; ■ .;' ') '■■■:,' -Mkz:^ jThe/Mqtpr iCar-Procession.-i-i;.; ;; ' ■ Mr. Pownall called further evidence in rup- ' a. NojLicense, pro- . ■ cession was on the streets of. Masterton -after vi ; y 1 : ; polling day, " ; \ :/;. v \,.;:/-.: ':.:,',. ; ;.: -. Edward George Bragiuns/night' watchman, /."stated ,that -it was'after :9;vo'clock- when he ■;,,sawi,the. procession "of'-motor:" cars,:bearing yS.treamera,Hpa?s' along'the gtfee't.': Similar, evp ■"■dence -was given, by. 'Joseph Petersen, dyer, ■;\; Ajilrnr.jHaugtey; and';Jessie [..Petersen; 1 /;. -'; of the ears .that; -'-ho past'nine;when. 1 theixars, with'their itoppe4...Qutsido::.tho, CTub.Bpte). : -

SU-JosepH'lil-Kenzie■-•Miller,, plerlci- deposed ;^t^' , at'-'e|ghi'-iQinut^t<i:'nme/p]i;'poiling' : day ;ai-procession, Rearing' f ect'-jn length, turned oirt qf Jiruc? street and came ■ down Queen Street. -v.:ft : r ,; ;. : • '. i .

: : ; Cartoons,/ \ -.' | ■ ; - -Benjamin'Brodiej- cordial manufacturer,, of ;. Queen. Street, stated that-a placard.depicting : a tiger 'behind some recks, was posted on a ) hoarding adjoining his place, It; occupied the. of the hoarding space, and was still "lip nil '.the.day-of the; poll., : : Notices,, printed., -across it read: "Mothers; beware, of your ;. ./boys," and "Strike out the fop line only."} ..;. ■■■' To Mr.i|H.ollmgs:,-Alongside the picture of -v the iiger, 'tKero''Sv ; of the ■: Liquor party, showing how to'vote for Con-:'-;-iinu'arice.'.'.-.\-'.;.!'- ;;.'' ; :;!■:..: .•;':■■•';" ; .;■ '"■. ■■ -,■'.!■ v :df carfqons ;*whiclv.he".saw.in Hall.Stre^V-on'pplling^day. One.; was :.the':picture' of./a/'majV. carryijig. a j--barfpl.- v of ,; bMrV-aM'.-a.ri6tic(i^pn : it/h'ad J yef:eK ■ enco. : to Masterton's hundred thousand pound ■drink.bill, and also:bbre. the words: "Striko :.. outs.the >-tpp7 linev.qnly,". -In 'reply'-.to Mr, i Hollings,''the witness : &at£oTraV;tb.eye- were v also, notices-of;.the-Lic[Uor party oil the same .;■;; hoarding.-!.,- : ;"; ;-"•■: --;'-' ''y .;■" '■*/:- ■■■-'■■■■■■.: . \.;

" ' Second Ballot'; papers, Refused. : Houston'M. Boddington, ; deputy returning •_:•.■'■ officer ; at No. 2■.. booth, deposed to having ;. -issued seoond ballot papers to two voters-H ;>George-Dennis,-and^Mrs r ;' Mr. Ostler; the witness '■■ replied that in the ..written-, instructions : whicli- ho v received, no. umentionjwas jnacje,^as to ■■ the supplying of jeecpnd voting!papers""* = . ; ...Robert,Kinmore;"Johnstbne, : deputy, at.No. . ;1 booth,* stated that: ho also issued two sec-.irb'ndt'iballotnrpapersi'-rone tor--a. many named ■ J-GamerPni^Jila-each ca.se.i'thevspoilt<'.papers -Xirgre Retained): sealed;-.up,'in ;■&■■ packet,- and i'?m*tk(sa;;'?;Sp-oilt;y;;, ; l|[r,>H.:\W:. Pownall had t'ftbjepjfced.'ito.the. issuing of -.the.vfi.rst duplicate. c■; At; the, election,- ..three; years ago, ; ; wi tncs3 had .:; sam.9,,;tliin,g..,:i ; one, ' '- ■ voting ■ paper. for an illitefat'e~,elect'pr." :. T ;:.: ; Tp.MT.:fostler^>This ; 'wiis : -the; third 'time ..-h6,.Lad, been.. engaged ;at Ja general; election, ■"and on•all-pcc.asipns'it:had:been 'the'-practice to issue iecond. ballbtv -'■->-^- ; -.:: ! : ■:i^y::.;'■-■ ■'.■;:WhatthVcanvassers Did./ !

Arthur "Ernest , Hamilton, , Styles, baler, stated thai ho voted at the Lansdowne booth "His name was phced on tho roll a couple of months previously, but he had not signpd bis name ,to the application. His wife, he believed, signed tho document Tho canvassw. Ho had been told, was a man - named IbbeU on, but ho could not say jf this was the person who had been fined for m breach of the. Electoral Act He arrived jn Masterton on; August 29 of last year, and had been m the town only 70 days when ho recorded his yoto I * ~ To Mr Hollmgs He had previously" lived at Newtown; '.but his natne-ivag-not on the Wellington roll, and ho had never before voted at a geni=ral election Esther Styles, wifo of the previous witmess, stated flhat she put her'husband's name on tho" application for eniolment * - Mr James advised tho witness that sho need not answei any questions which mfght tend to incriminate her, or which would show , that she had committed SQme~offcncft "~To Mr, Pownvll Her husband did not sign his own application Shfj did not- Know at the time, who 'the canvasser was, but had "Been told since ttiat he was a. Mr, , Jbbetson At the'request' of tho Qourt,"Mr, 'IbbetBon came forward,, but t'io w ltness,, s> as un--1 aljlo to identify \\m as tho cativaVser who Mα taken tho applications ""~, - To,Mr, James Witness ,gav£ tho canvasser two jmpers— ono for her husband and one for herself Tho canvasser* did not ask her if the statements made m tho applications were correct To Mr Hplhngs On the Taraml.i roll of 1908, the najne Arthur Ernest Hamilton Styles was that of her husband Mr Hollmgs. I don't want to ask you your age, but I presurqo you me over twenty-flue? \ v Witness 1 hope so (Laughter ) To Mr Holhngi. Witness voted in NewPlymouth bfforo sho was married Tho name Ksther Wadbam on the Taranaln roll roferrpd to hei After leaving TaranaLi sho was in Wellington lor three years, Tint voted only at tho Mayoi'al election Sho made no application to ha*ve her name put on tho roll in Wellington Ono of'tho others who recoided a vote *as Laura Emily Rosyth, of 53 South Road, Masterton, who said that she signnd her apphcat'on for enrolment afW she had been m tho district a month aJI lut two days felie had previously been m Gladstone, and told the canvas pi how loujt she had beon away from that place He wftue&sod her signature to the- application ' ' To Dt M'Vrthui On tho application form the answers to th<» question, "Are jou 2H}ears of age," etc , »<jie put down before sho was askpd.anUhmglat'all She did not see the canvasser sign the document.

' ■:" "*" ' Protest by a Deputy. Eobort Bruce Owen, usheep-farmor, gave evidence that.he /ivas\a'do,puty returning officer at Pon. In reply, to i questions by Mr. Pownall, witness deposed' that a niarriod woman, Mary Ellen Howard, camo in to vote, and was given her papers, and shown tho place into which to go to record her vote. A Mr. M'Donald came in, and tho officials were getting his papers ready, when witattention was drawn to tho fact that M'DonaM- and- Mrs. Howard- were -conversing, and M'Donald had hold of Mrs. Howard's blank voting-paper. u ,Witness said, "That won't do," and M'Donald, turning'round, replied, "I am just telling, her to strike out the top line " Mr Pownall He ww evidently a gentleman of No License proclivities' l —Witness I should say so Mr,. Pownal!• And wh,at->did v joti do?— Witness, I told him he onghfrto , know better He told Mrs , Howard not to tale any notice of me, but to go in and not like to be nasty, and t«ll v lrjtnjp booth, but I showed him my 'instructions, 'giving me poircr to order him out/. 110 smarted to swing his arms about, and asked Mij f'ose were not posted outside the booths 'He r Jajcd in. the booth" until Mre Howard fr>uj "ited The l?tdv had not marked t\o vapor when they both haa hold of A '-No Did you report this matter to "the returning officer'—Yea. ,' Have you had any Toply ?—No Mr HolliDKa This lady is an elderly lady, is she not?— Witness Yes. _, "„

And she cannot sec without glasses?—l do not know, __ 1 Is it not a fact that she'askad Mr/ M'Donald to read tho lines for her?—l am almost sure she did not, because we must h-ue heird her, unless she whispered » Mr M'Donald drove hor to the booth, did" he not?—l believe so. J He did not go into the secret place whore? thc>\ exorcise the vote'—No Did not 50U ask him to remain and see Jipw jou were carrying out tbc cleotionP—No

-.».. Second Voting Paper Refused, StepperPascoe, of Lansdowne, stated that, she went to vote at the Lansdowno School. Tho only official sho knew in tho booth was Mr. Donaldson. } Just after voting, Witness thought sho had made an error, and asked for a fresh voting paper, This was refused.: Mr. Pownall: Djd;the returning officer look aji the first paper before he refused you,>i' : sed6ndP—Witness; Yes,,\ Mr. James: 'Who.put it in tho' boxP —Witness: One of tho gentlemen took it from rod and put it in the box, ■ It 'was open,- and ho gimply foldod it and dropped jt jn. ■.;.-■. . ,;; .■ .: ,-.--,■■ ;;;Mr, pid:y.ou tell them you had made a mistake; when you askctl for a new sheet ?—Witness: Yes, and one of tho gentlemen,;was going ; to give me a now ono, but Mr.'Donaldson said "No," . , ■'■JTo'Mr, Hollings: Tho witness stated that she ; was perfectly-satisfied now-that she had as she wanted to t vote, and she had no-complaint 'to make 'against anybody.. . Mr. Skerrott: Notwithstanding, the re-turning-officer -could not have known what was.in''her.mind.- . ; '•■.. ..... , ■ this stage Mr. Skerrett intimated:that the case for' tho petitioners was concluded, subject to scrutiny by tho Court of tho spoilt papers,, tho voting papers of, illiterate elecr tors',''.and..Jpth'er.^es.referred to in tho proceedings'. V . ' . • , : , ■"' Finding of tho Court, ;-'_ ; Aft'er a ..short adjournment consulta'.'tipni -the Court "gave its-decision. Mr. James dealt-with-each clause.'of the petitipn. ■ "•'The'-iirst "ground, -'which had : reference to. the gazetting of - the licensing district of - Maste'rton, had been waived by Mr. Skerrett.-. ■■.. ' '. - . ■'■■;.■-■ ; As for the second, that all persons (except the petitioners).;.had,not been entitled to vote.' because,pf f jipt jbeing. (1) adults or (2). ; resident'iii'the Dominion and district for.the required length of timo, the only evidence was,. that Mr. fand ?Mrs. Styles and Mr§. Rosyth had been improperly placed on the roll: WitKi'regard't6 other voters there had. [Mnynpevidence. .• ■ The next clause, relating to the 25 per [ cep-.''iHcr'e"ase*and*'tihe , :. necessity for 'submitting a fourth issue, had been waived, and the same thing had been'done in regard to that item which referred to the gazetting ofithe bpundaries of the district. v : ."'"" : - No ovidonoe at all had been tendered regarding tljo allowing of abaeut voters' pexmits. ..ryyifui,:j :■*.,. '■>• .: .--. ■ ...•■■ : | I ° lr 'i^g;^'^! l i,'J l H, l ?gUlarities connected with the poll,-'■the' -allegation that' a. motor-car procession had been held after 9 a.m. on supported altogether byjthe.eYiden.ce.. None of tne witnesses, who had given evidence on this matter had been able to- swear positively that the procession was proceeding; aftert&o'clock. At all events, been a few minuies, if ,at; all, after 9 o'clock, and apparently.it was stoppedjbefprc.-tlTat., At tho same time, the Court was not of opinion that it was suchvamatter as'would affect tho result of'.tlie it: was not quite discreet to :hold»'a procession so close upon the,time qf the opening of the poll The Court; held- that (! no breach of the Ac! had been'committed, i,- : .' ' ; £n regard to the displaying of , placards, thjs waS'a'breabh-Sf Section 35, Subsection C However, both parties;appearea to have put placards up; one party was equally as b»d asj the other,,:.. The/fact that they had been up'.for'tsuclilai-Jojig '$ime. bofor.e polling daj that their, effect was. exhausted, and that" they could, not" the result of thepolh : C.,9nsej;ning:..the.,,allegation that,:: after., one - of the booths was clpsed, Messrs. M'Gregor ■and.: Dixon, twojrf Jie No-Licenso. leaders, were'allowefflo enter "and watch the counting of the: poll, the Court did not consider that.there was anything very wrong in what wa^ail6'wga" , to~-B6~dbn.e. But it held ,tl,. returning .officers, would be wise to keep everybody ouOvho ,^as/ ; not actually; engaged in the. bobth'si., aThe .Court did not:hold.iu' this: instance "thai "any serious offence had been committed; or that anything had happened which wpuld in any wny affect : the/.-result.-.>,-In the matter of supplying second'ballot papers, tho Court was of opinion that. t; were entitled tq substitute other Cpapii's^ for : any "that 'were sppiled by voters,-: The officers,had acted properly in replacing the spoilt papers.-'The Court was of opinion that the.fact of some papers having the names of the returuing officer .and. scrutineers, written across them did not in any way invalidate them.: The scnit.ineers had ayperfect-.right' to seo tho papers, and: the addition, of their names could not in any way affect the result. 1 It would not m any;wayleadL-.(jq,Jhe. identification of the voter,:: : ■■■".•'.■ ':-! ' '•■ .-: -.' ■■' ' -«■ ■

In the Landsdowrie case there fyad been an apparent irregularity by ijhe returning officer. My.-Donaldson, and this was a matter which Donaldson later, rf^ho" v desired to give evidence. : ■'■. ' With regard to the exhibition of a "How to vote' , placard at Mangamahoe, there had reen no cvidonce whatever: no had any re* :ierence. been. u:ade to }ha Ektahuna case, ! ' ■~ - .Aeportluia';.to.:.theisSvidence, an.offence had beeiv committed; by'M.r-'M'Doijaid,'" af'Pori; m inturferiiig with. a : person, intending to '7°te-. The .matter might be referred to later, if Mr, M Donald desired to give an explanation.;: ■■'. .' .•;..■.- --' ■;.■,.■■■.;, ■ . ; . • ; ,As to the allegation that the booth at Rongokokakp. wasjnpt "open at ~9.30. a.in;, the Court was of opinion that the returning officer should, be' allowed to state whether the booth was closed or not. ; . •;. At Masterton,' No. A booth, it was alleged that .persons had voted who had not been resident in the district for the required length of time. Tho cases were those of Mr. and Mrs. Styles/(who had been in tho district for twelve weeks) and Laura Emily Rosyth. The Court waS'pfippinion.that these persons were improperly on the roll. If Ibbetson wiehed to make an explanation he'was at liberty to do so'.'' : This brought''up the question raised by Mr. Skerrett .whether the Court should disallow such. the' Court, after, considering the matter, had decided that it had,the;right'to :di|allow the votes of those ■ .-persons "who* We'not.actually on the roll, 'iho Court had come to the opinion that it had the right to disallow the .votes of persons improperly placed on the roll. It considered that it had a ; perfect right to go ana disallow the votes of any persons whose names'were found to bo improperly on tho roll.: There were other persons to which the section miglit'hiive reference, such as those who were on the roll an'd had left the district and como back; these hud riot •finally: ceased to reside in the district. The Act required that they should •remain in-the-district for six'.day's before tho election. This was,, .another' instance in tho/richt to disallow' votes, if voters had not resided in the district for the time stated by: the statute. The result- was affected by^the irregularities which had_;occurred,'tp" tbe.exteht of only three vbtes/'recorded' by persons who 'had. no right to vote. TheseU'Ptes might be disallowed— Mr. and^Mrs.'"Stvles ana Mrs. Roayth—benamed had been impoperly plaped on the roll. According to the ■'.'evidence',*' Rosyth, Styles (2), Ibbotson, M'Dpnald, and Donaldson (returning officer) had jrreg'nlarities, and might degive evidence regarding { the allegations. j'lTho Court would be prepared to hear them or any other witnesses in this regard. Mrr Holliligi'; said: that he was. glad the matter had now" been brought down to such small compass. wished to give an explanation to say-that ho had not been guilty of any irregulasjty. ; Mr. James remarked that the irregularities would have to be reported on, and the Court wished to give these persons an opportunity I of explaining : their 'cohduct. : .iMr/Ho'llingsfT'dtf-not think Mr. Ibbetson ought to bo called. Tho Court has decided to disalloWvthese three votes v Ibbetspnwas pjosecuted a short'tinie ago >Mr, James; With reference to'these same claims:?."; . . -. . % ~Mr'.*Hpllings: NoVwith reference to another votor who was put on .the roll in the same'way. He was the first to give information- oL.tho- offence haying been com-mitted/jB-Crn'entito, Mr. Foley, the registrar, and I appeared for him when the matter came beforp'twoVJuatices; A plea of guilty was..put,'-irip : 'a.rid,?h'e; : --was fined ss. on one charg'e. , arid 'the' othqf was withdrawn. Seeing thatJi^wa'sj'tlio , informant himself and repprled ft lniriiediately ho had done wrong,, jfc! very serious matter.' " DrfM'Arthur: Mr. Ibbetson seems to have

gono about with all those forms partially filled iu with tho answers to the questions, and signed all ready. The other items wore filled in in pencil. . Mr. James:, It is quite optional for him whether he gives evidence or not. Thero is every opportunity given to him if he desires to explain his conduct. . . ■ Mr. Hollings;. It a voluntary admission.' . ■ ". : Mr. Pownall: We have no evidence of that. He was. nabbed first and gave the information afterwards. Mr. Foley, registrar, stated that the' irregularity was reported to him first, and when he mentioned it to Ibbetson ho admitted it. " . Mr. James: He did not come voluntarilyp Mr. Foley: No. , -. ::-,-' Mr. James said that it could not affect the- result as far as the petition was con-, cerned; practically, that was dismissed. It was just to give those! people an opportunity of explaining themselves before the Court reported on the'irregularities: . ■ Mr. Hollings, after conferring with IbbetEon, announced that the latter would bo willing to go-into the witness-box. ■;: i : '. Three Important Rulings. Mr; Ostler pointed out that the>Court had decided three important law points, ; in'connection with the petition, and theso rulingshad been arrived at without the , hearing of argument. In air these cases Mr. Ostler desired to have the / opportunity of arguing the points for the other polls, and he wished to ask that these decisions be. not. taken as fi precedent, and* Wiat the rulings should not be regarded elsewhere as the rulings of tho Court before argument,. .' ;,Mr. Skerrett submitted that the discussion was quite out of order; :How could this Court say what-other Courts would do? Mr. James said that each caso must bo decided by itself. The decision of one Court did not apply to another. ... ■ '..-. ■' • .' Mr, Ostler: I am aware of that, and am also aware that two of the members of this. Court will occupy tho bench when the other petitions are being heard. , Mr, James: No doubt you will be given every opportunity of arguing the matter in the other cases, . :. ■

AWARDING OF COSTS. - Mr, Skerrett remarked that he might be at liberty to leave, seeing' that the case had been-.cenpluded, ■■■:.. .■■ ;.,.. ; • ■.'., , ■ Mr, .Hollings: I havo; something to say regarding that; 1 apply for, costs. Mr, Skerrett quoted the Act,-' and submitted that costs were limited to .£2O. ■ Mr. Hollings contended that the argument was not sound, The Court, he said, had power-to .order costs and exp'enses incidental to thejnquiry. The Act did: not limit the costs to £20, :■:■"■■•:"' •:■ . ' . ■•'. > Mr. Skefrett: Does my friend suggest': that £20 is not ample for him?'' ; ; .. ', Mr. Hollings submitted that. £20 was not' sufficient. Twenty or thirty witnesses had been in town for two days over the case. Mr. Hollings reforred .to the .precedent laid down in tho Invercargill case, where argument was put forward by Mr, Hosking, K.C., and it was decided that the Court' could award costs as in a Supreme Court, case. His party had had to get witnesses to.meet every, one of the numerous charges made, and he, was prepared to prove''that' they, were absolutely frivolous and ridicuJous. .The fact that tlie Court had , decided .to dismiss the' case without hearing 'argument -spoke volnmes. for the merits of the allegations. ■ 'Mr, Skerrett said that, ter from a common-sense pdint pf view; tho intention of the Xegislature , was to provide the sum, of £20 for costs, and ho submitted that the amount was quito sufficient in this case/-,''■-••■■. : -: ;■•-■/•• ;■-'■-.-•■..■■: ■.. ■. :..',;,■„„;,>

,: Mr. Hollings said that the mention of £20 in the' Act. was simply to prevent men of straw bringing a petition and .then clearing out without paying anything Tho £20 was simply, a guarantee of,good faith; it was-not , the limit by any means. ''.'■'.' ""■■'■. ■ . The Court awarded;twenty guineas >coun-, selsl-'iees,'costs'of'the'Court a,nd witnesses'! expenses (tbt be'fixed-by the,clerk), advertising expenses, tho expenses of the official shorthand reporter j aiid train fares,' j,